Regional Indexes Close Mixed
As Japan Falls, China Rises

A Wall Street Journal Online NEWS ROUNDUP

Updated Sept. 15, 2006 6:32 a.m. ET

Asian-Pacific stocks closed mixed on Friday, with Japan's Nikkei Average losing ground after a weaker finish on Wall Street sparked a round of profit-taking, while China's shares ended at a two-month high.

The Nikkei 225 Average finished the day 0.47% lower at 15866.93, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.67% to 5036.40. On the other hand, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.32% to close at 17237.65, South Korea's Kospi Index...